In a nutshell
A roomy, leather-scented boot hall that trades on Texan warmth rather than New York attitude, this Wooster Street flagship shows how a DTC cowboy-boot disruptor can scale up into a full Western lifestyle brand while keeping service, fit and ritual at the centre.
In their words
Brand Background
Tecovas was founded in Austin, Texas, in 2015 by former private equity associate Paul Hedrick, with what he has described as a “simple idea: make better boots, the right way,” and sell them directly to customers without the traditional Western retail mark-up.
The brand launched online with a tightly edited range - one classic men’s and one women’s style - made in León, Mexico, using traditional 200-step handcrafting processes, positioning itself as the “Warby Parker of cowboy boots” by combining heritage quality, under-USD-300 pricing and a digital-first model.
Over the subsequent decade Tecovas expanded into ropers, exotics, work boots, jeans, shirts and accessories, building a loyal following among both first-time boot buyers and seasoned Western wearers who appreciated the brand’s fit, comfort and service ethos.
Physical retail arrived later but has become a central part of Tecovas’ growth. The company opened its first store in Austin in 2019 and has since scaled to more than 50 locations across the United States, combining destination stores in core Western markets with outposts in “non-traditional” cities such as Boston, Chicago and now New York.
VP of brand marketing Samantha Fodrowski has framed this expansion as a way to bring Tecovas’ “radical hospitality to the Nth degree” into markets where many customers are encountering Western boots for the first time, arguing that stores are now one of the brand’s biggest growth levers.
Visit Field notes
The SoHo store, which opened in late summer 2025, marks Tecovas’ 50th store nationwide and its largest footprint to date at around 4,500 square feet over a single level at 105 Wooster Street.
The layout is designed to feel like an oversized Texas boot shop transplanted into a cast-iron loft: long walls of boots are arranged by toe shape and leather, apparel and hats are merchandised as full head-to-toe looks, and generous seating encourages customers to take their time trying on pairs.
Tecovas’ own store page emphasises what it calls “in-store specials, always on the house,” including complimentary beverages, free debossing for leather goods, boot stretching to fine-tune fit, and in SoHo specifically, a custom belt buckle service available by appointment with an in-store designer.
To introduce itself to New York, Tecovas orchestrated a week-long campaign that Modern Retail describes as “bringing its version of the West to the city.” Activations included a takeover of Leather Spa in Grand Central Terminal offering free boot shines, a cowboy karaoke night and a Grand Central “Great Western Dance Hall” event with live country music, all culminating in a Wooster Street opening weekend featuring live bands, cocktails curated by Death & Co, swag bags for the first customers and complimentary boot painting and chain-stitching.
Influencer and local media content frames the store as “Western hospitality in SoHo,” highlighting how the Texan brand leans into friendliness and service as differentiators in an environment more used to fashion minimalism than boot-fitting banter.
Tecovas Wooster is a useful study in how a digitally native, category-specific brand uses sensory cues, service rituals and event-led marketing to translate regional authenticity into a cosmopolitan flagship.
Checkout
- Hospitality centre stage - sofas and generous bar at the centre of the store
- Personalisation bar - debossing, customisation and branding
- Services - boot stretching, boot shine
- Custom hat bar, with shaping and stretching
- From a single product, note the extension to clothing - dressing the whole cowboy...
Other Reading
- Tecovas - store page for 105 Wooster
- Tecovas - our story
- CNN - the challenge of selling cowboy boots online
- Shopify article on Tecovas founder, Paul Hedrick
- Modern Retail - review of opening and activations
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